Inside the Miami Marlins with MLB.com beat writer Joe FrisaroTwitter

Results tagged ‘ Marlins ’

JUPITER, Fla. — Chris Coghlan has been playing center field in Minor League games, but the Marlins are not quite ready to put him in Grapefruit League action.

So Dewayne Wise, who is looking to make the club as a non-roster invitee, is getting the start in center field.

The Marlins may be leaning towards keeping Coghlan out of Grapefruit League games, because it could impact a retroactive date should the team place him on the disabled list to start the season.

Players can appear in Minor League games, but if they are in either a Grapefruit or Cactus league game after March 22, they are not eligible to be placed on the season retroactive. So should Coghlan, or any other Marlin, go on the DL retroactive to March 22, they would be eligible to play on April 7, or after the first six days of the season.

Wise has enjoyed a solid spring. Greg Dobbs, who is a frontrunner to make the team as a left-handed bat off the bench, is getting the start on Thursday at third base.

First, the 28-year-old had to show he is healthy. He’s done that, recovering from a sprained right thumb, to get back on the mound. The injury caused him to miss the first half of Spring Training. He’s also recovering from surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.

Now, Nolasco is working on getting sharp. The off time set him back in terms of polishing up his delivery and getting hitters out. The rust showed in his first two Grapefruit League starts, where he’s allowed 11 runs on 12 hits in four innings.

Nolasco is back on the mound on Wednesday when the Marlins face the Braves in Lake Buena Vista. Atlanta is starting Tim Hudson.

Between his last start and now, Nolasco has worked with pitching coach Randy St. Claire. The two have watched video and detected some glitches in his delivery.

“Just stuff that Randy and I saw,” Nolasco said. “I felt like I was flying open early, which the video obviously showed. He wanted to point that out to me, to stay closed a little bit longer.”

Nolasco also is looking to get his legs more into his delivery.

“I wasn’t really using my legs as much, which is another thing that we noticed,” he said. “It was causing me, instead of going directly to the plate, I was falling off. Those little things will come with the more that I throw.

“It’s nothing we’re worried about, but it’s something we’re working on. When I’m using my lower half a little more, it helps me stay in line through the ball and through the target.”

JUPITER, Fla. — The stomach virus that has gone around Marlins camp has caught up to Matt Dominguez.

The 21-year-old third baseman was sent home on Tuesday morning. In recent days, Logan Morrison, Hanley Ramirez, Brett Hayes and John Baker each have dealt with flu-like symptoms.

Dominguez is battling for the third base job, and he’s been struggling of late.

Manager Edwin Rodriguez said a decision should be made on the third base job by the end of the upcoming weekend.

Dominguez is scheduled to make the trip to Lake Buena Vista on Wednesday to face the Braves.

While the Marlins would like to see Dominguez’s defense in the lineup, Rodriguez said: “We’re not going to force the situation.”

Other items of note from Edwin’s morning media session:

* Mike Stanton and Chris Coghlan are both playing the outfield in Minor League games on Tuesday. Both are expected to play for the Marlins on Thursday against the Red Sox.

Rodriguez sounds confident that both will be ready for the April 1 Opening Night game with the Mets at Sun Life Stadium.

* Josh Johnson should throw 85-90 pitches on Tuesday against the Twins. Ryan Webb, Leo Nunez and Mike Dunn also are expected to pitch.

* Greg Dobbs is making his first start in the outfield on Tuesday, getting action in right field. Dobbs is a frontrunner to win the lefty bat off the bench job.

* Emilio Bonifacio, while a candidate to play either second or third base if Dominguez doesn’t make the team, also is an option in center field if Coghlan isn’t ready for Opening Day.

* Donnie Murphy is certainly in the mix to play third base.

* Rodriguez added that the final days of camp should be interesting because cuts made by other clubs could impact the Marlins. For instance, Florida may look to pick up a player or two who are released from other camps.

JUPITER, Fla. — Chris Coghlan and Mike Stanton will once again be in Minor League games on Sunday as they move closer to being ready for the season opener.

Coghlan (sore right shoulder) is expected to play seven innings in center field and get five plate appearances.

Stanton (strained right quad) will again be used as a designated hitter, but he is moving closer to being ready to play the outfield. In recent days, the 21-year-old right fielder has been doing running and agility drills with no discomfort.

He could be playing in the outfield in Minor League games as early as Tuesday. If that goes well, Stanton may be playing in a Grapefruit League game as soon as Thursday against the Red Sox at Roger Dean Stadium.

An important date for injured players is Tuesday (March 22), because that’s the day that factors into when a player is placed on the disabled list retroactively. So the Marlins will ask themselves whether they should keep Coghlan playing in Minor League games after Tuesday, because that gives them flexibility.

If a player opens the season on the DL retroactively to March 22, he can be eligible for reinstatement as early as April 7, instead of missing the first 15 days of the season.

To be on the DL retroactively, a player can play in Minor League games, but he can’t appear in Grapefruit or Cactus League games after March 22.

A year ago, the Marlins faced the same situation with Cody Ross, who had a hamstring injury. Ross played in Minor League games until the end of Spring Training, and the team then determined he was ready to play on Opening Day.

If he wasn’t, he could have been placed on the DL retroactively, and missed about five or six games.

JUPITER, Fla. — Luis Castillo is now on the market, and the Marlins may have interest.

A source said the organization is having some internal discussions about whether to bring the 35-year-old back to Florida.

On Friday the Mets released Castillo. a switch-hitting second baseman. New York is on the hook to pay the $6 million on his 2011 contract.

Castillo could make sense for Florida if the team isn’t sure prospect Matt Dominguez is ready to win the third base job. The 21-year-old Dominguez, currently the frontrunner to be the Opening Day starter, is batting .219 in 32 Grapefruit League at-bats.

If the Marlins do look to sign Castillo, he could play second and Omar Infante could switch to third base.

Castillo was with the Marlins from 1996-2005. He was a three-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner in Florida.

Meta

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.